Armed and masked men, believed to be members of the IRA group responsible for shooting suspected drug dealers in Belfast, raided a house in the lower Falls Road yesterday afternoon, according to local sources, writes Jim Cusack.
The group uses the cover name Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD) and was responsible for eight other killings during the first IRA ceasefire from 1994 to 1996.
Four men are said to have forced their way into the ground floor flat from the front and rear but the man they were apparently seeking was out.
Although the men's intention is not clear there was speculation locally that they might have intended to shoot the man.
The IRA group, known as the "Administration Department" is believed to have been responsible for the killing earlier this year of Brendan Campbell, one of Belfast's leading drug dealers, who was shot dead in February.